Star Paws Rescue was founded by Peter Jackson’s (US) casting director Victoria Burrows in response to the overwhelming need to care for abandoned, abused and injured dogs in the city of Los Angeles. For 11 years Victoria has tirelessly rescued helpless stray dogs from the harsh streets of Los Angeles and placed them in good homes. Their mission? To save the lives of abandoned and abused animals in the City of Los Angeles and place them in loving homes. And this takes money Folks, whatever you can spare for food, vet care and finding homes for those poor doggies. And if can find it in your heart and home, foster or adopt your very own doggie.

Dark Del’s was PACKED all evening. Awesome turnout. Bill was excited to meet Billy Boyd (Pippin from LOTR) and have him sign his Oscar poster.

Anne’s son, author Christopher Rice was by her side. This event was to promote her newest book, The Wolf Gift, but fans bought and brought all of her novels. It was a long and winding line, but worth the wait. The Barnes and Nobel staff did a great job with crowd control. Below is the “end” of the line, which was down on the 2nd floor, with a group at a time going up to join the “Disneyland style” twisting line on the 3rd floor. It’s amazing how many people can be squeezed in between book shelves! Oy vey! There was some serious “guard-age” too. I mean like, men in dark suits, watching the fans like hawks, escorting Ms. Rice to the ladies room… Yikes.

The Making of Tron: How Tron Changed Visual Effects and Disney Forever – In 1982, Walt Disney Productions was in serious trouble. Its films were no longer drawing audiences into theaters. In the era of “Star Wars” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Disney desperately needed to reinvent itself. Disney found its salvation in a radical new film called “Tron.” Led by a fearless first-time feature film director, the cast and crew of “Tron” turned the Disney studio upside down and forced it into the modern film age. “The Making of Tron: How Tron Changed Visual Effects and Disney Forever” traces the making of this groundbreaking computer driven film from its inception, through its setbacks and in-fighting, to its enormous influence on modern culture. “Tron” was so innovative, it would change how audiences saw movies and it would forever transform the film industry. Featuring exclusive interviews with Jeff Bridges, Cindy Morgan, Steven Lisberger, Donald Kushner, Harrison Ellenshaw, Richard Taylor, and “Tron” alumni, “The Making of Tron: How Tron Changed Visual Effects and Disney Forever” will blow away your perception of one of the most innovative films of all time.

After 20 Years, cast and crew reunite to celebrate the releases of Captain Power and The Soldiers of the Future 4-DVD Set Complete With Out of the Ashes: The Making of Captain Power, Special DVD Documentary and the release of The Skeleton Warriors 2-DVD set complete with special features.

Back in 1987-88, Captain Power and The Soldiers of the Future was the first TV series to integrate live action, CGI and interactive effects. Skeleton Warriors, which ran for 13 episodes as part of CBS Saturday morning line up, follows the struggle of Prince Lightstar and The Legion of Light, defenders of the planet Luminaire from the ghastly Baron Dark and his eee-vil Skeleton Warriors… buh-wha-ha-ha!

BIRDS! Yes, Tippi Hedren is well known for her starring role in Hitchcock’s The Birds. Like you can easily forget a pretty face… which is being pecked to death. Shudder!

In spite of all that, Tippi still loves animals, particularly great big kitties. In fact, she is “den mother” for The Shambala Preserve, aka The Roar Foundation, and in addition to her signing, they set up shop at Dark Delicacies to drum up support with T-Shirts, art, wild animal adoptions and general donations. Shambala is an elegant ancient Sanskrit word which means “a meeting place of peace and harmony for all beings, animal and human“. Works for me!

LEGEND takes place in a dark future, when the United States has split into two warring nations. It tells the story of a famous 15-year old boy criminal and the 15-year old girl prodigy hired to hunt him down. When their paths cross, the truth they uncover together will become legend. Legend is book one of a trilogy.

Bill and I had been meaning to check out the newly opened Redondo Beach store, so we jumped at the chance when my friend Zack Faucett, who was visiting California, invited us to meet him and his writing mentor Kami Garcia at the signing. Kami is also Marie Lu’s mentor… clearly, the über-mentor! It won’t be long before Zack is inviting us to his first book signing.

Zack Faucett meets Marie Lu

Zack and I met on a Patrick Carman fan site years ago and stayed in touch. When Bill and I attended the Write Girl event a last year I was delighted to learn that Kami and Zack had met at a book signing in Arizona and that she was working with him to finish his first novel. (Okay, more like cracking the whip… She IS a school teacher!) Zack shared that Mr. Carman was his first writing mentor, but that he was a “terrible writer” back then. I have to laugh because Zack is whopping 18 years old now, so when he worked with Carman he was just a kid! He was also Carman’s intern and moderated one of his fan chat sites. These talented young people are major impressive and it’s awesome when experienced writers take them under their wing.

The new store has a lot of space and wow what a fancy signing area. It was amazing to finally meet Zack in person and of course it’s always fun running into Kami. She and Margaret Stohl are making a difference in the lives of young people. We heart you gyz! Zack!

Anutter LosCon… I’ve been attending LosCons, the annual science fiction and fantasy convention put on by the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (LASFS), since the early 1980’s. Bill since the 90’s. Some years, I go all out… stay in the hotel, hang out all weekend enjoying the programing. But this year we met up with friends and did a lot of eating… OUT. I didn’t take a lot of pix, but we had a really great time! As usual, Bill hung out with Ken Estes in the hotel lobby, entertaining our friends with magic.

Bestselling horror legend John Skipp has released an epic 632-page anthology entitled DEMONS: Encounters With the Devil and his Minions, Fallen Angels, and the Possessed. “And if you think the title is long,” says Skipp, “you should see the table of contents!”

This collection of bone-chilling tales explores demons in their myriad forms: from spirit possession of the human soul to fallen angels, to the devil. Ranging from certified classics to certifiable classics-in-the-making, each story wreaks havoc. Skipp provides fascinating and absurdly keen insights in two essays that examine the history and details of demon lore, as well as its role in pop culture. Resources at the end of the book include lists of the best long-form fiction, movies, websites and writers.

Yep, you read that right! Josh Gates, that bad ass monster hunt’n adventure man from Destination Truth and the host of the Ghost Hunters live Halloween specials for the past few years is now, also, an author. I actually heard about this signing on the Jason Hawes/TAPS Facebook page so Bill and I packed our DVD’s, drove down to Huntington Beach to buy a couple books and meet him. (I’m a big fan of both shows). When we arrived, we learned they had sold out of books, like hours ago. Dude! Bill jumped on the phone and called several bookstores in the area and found one that had a few (yay) so they held them for us as we stepped out of the long (very slow!) line, drove to the other store, grabbed the books, raced back and stood in line A-gain. Whew! Made it!

And Mr. Gates? Extremely nice man. He took pictures with everyone and signed everything his fans brought for him. We had him sign Ghost Hunter DVD’s, Destination Truth DVD’s and of course his new book. It was worth it, even if a little nerve wracking, to chase down some of his books… if you’d like a signed copy drop Bill an email. But the DVD’s are mine, Baby!

The World Fantasy Convention was a different experience for Bill and me. Most of the conventions we attend are what we consider the more “traditional” sci-fi cons, lots of costumes, gaming, masquerades… general fun and silliness for all. However, World Fantasy conventions emphasize art and literature, catering to professionals, collectors and others interested in fantasy. But they do feature an art show, dealer’s room and a huge book autograph event on Friday night. And that’s what William Wu Books was there for Baby!!